Is it possible to using Data Module without .DFM?

I offloaded all ADO hood in a separate Data Module, so a single module can be referred by several applications. All my applications basically need only two worker methonds to access data:

AdoQuery delivers a result set in a form of TADODataSet.
AdoExecute performs simple update/delete queries without fetching any results.

Here is the class structure:

type
  TMyDataModule = class(TDataModule)
    procedure DataModuleCreate(Sender: TObject);
    procedure DataModuleDestroy(Sender: TObject);
  private
    procedure pvtAdoConnect;
    procedure pvtAdoExecute(const sql: string);
    function pvtAdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet;
  public
    AdoConnection: TADOConnection;
  end;

Then I added two publicly exposed wrappers to class methods. I used that to avoid long class references in the calls:

function AdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet;
procedure AdoExecute(const sql: string);

implementation

function AdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet;
begin
  Result := MyDataModule.pvtAdoQuery(sql);
end;

Above are the worker function which I call from within all my forms.

AdoConnect runs only once on DataModuleCreate event. TDatModule derived from TPersistent, which allows to persist the single instance of connection throughout a runtime.

The only thing that annoys me so far - is a useless .DFM which I don't need at all.
Is there any option to get rid of it?

Solution

I would handle this type of thing in one of two ways, with interfaces or with inheritance. I prefer not to expose classes to the outside world in these cases. The second one could almost be called an interface without interfaces :)

Interfaces

This version returns an interface that includes the required methods. The outside world only needs to use the interface. We keep the implementation details private. Our TMyDBClass implements the interface that we have exposed to the outside world and our global function GetDBInterface returns the single instance.

interface

uses
  ADODB;

type
  IMyDBInterface = interface
  ['{2D61FC80-B89E-4265-BB3D-93356BD613FA}']
    function AdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet;
    procedure AdoExecute(const sql: string);
  end;

function GetDBInterface: IMyDBInterface;

implementation

type
  TMyDBClass = class(TInterfacedObject, IMyDBInterface)
  strict private
    FConnection: TADOConnection;
  protected
    procedure AfterConstruction; override;
    procedure BeforeDestruction; override;
  public
    function AdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet;
    procedure AdoExecute(const sql: string);
  end;

var
  FMyDBInterface: IMyDBInterface;

procedure TMyDBClass.AdoExecute(const sql: string);
begin
  // ...
end;

function TMyDBClass.AdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet;
begin
  // ...
end;

procedure TMyDBClass.AfterConstruction;
begin
  inherited;
  FConnection := TADOConnection.Create(nil);
end;

procedure TMyDBClass.BeforeDestruction;
begin
  FConnection.Free;
  inherited;
end;

// Our global function

function GetDBInterface: IMyDBInterface;
begin
  if not Assigned(FMyDBInterface) then
    FMyDBInterface := TMyDBClass.Create;
  Result := FMyDBInterface;
end;

initialization

finalization
  FMyDBInterface := nil;
end.

Inheritance

This version uses a base class that has the required methods. This is a bit easier for people to deal with because it excludes the interface which can be complex to people starting out. Again we hide the implementation details from the user and only expose a shell of a class that includes the two methods we want people to access. The implementation of these methods is performed by a class in the implementation that inherits from the exposed class. We also have a global function that returns the instance of this class. The big advantage that the interface approach has over this approach is that the user of this object can't free the object by accident.

interface

uses
  ADODB;

type
  TMyDBClass = class(TObject)
  public
    function AdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet; virtual; abstract;
    procedure AdoExecute(const sql: string); virtual; abstract;
  end;

function GetDBClass: TMyDBClass;

implementation

type
  TMyDBClassImplementation = class(TMyDBClass)
  strict private
    FConnection: TADOConnection;
  protected
    procedure AfterConstruction; override;
    procedure BeforeDestruction; override;
  public
    function AdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet; override;
    procedure AdoExecute(const sql: string); override;
  end;

var
  FMyDBClass: TMyDBClassImplementation;

procedure TMyDBClassImplementation.AdoExecute(const sql: string);
begin
  inherited;
  // ...
end;

function TMyDBClassImplementation.AdoQuery(const sql: string): TADODataSet;
begin
  inherited;
  // ...
end;

procedure TMyDBClassImplementation.AfterConstruction;
begin
  inherited;
  FConnection := TADOConnection.Create(nil);
end;

procedure TMyDBClassImplementation.BeforeDestruction;
begin
  FConnection.Free;
  inherited;
end;

// Our global function

function GetDBClass: TMyDBClass;
begin
  if not Assigned(FMyDBClass) then
    FMyDBClass := TMyDBClassImplementation.Create;
  Result := FMyDBClass;
end;

initialization
  FMyDBClass := nil;
finalization
  FMyDBClass.Free;
end.

Usage

Usage of these are really easy.

implementation

uses
  MyDBAccess; // The name of the unit including the code

procedure TMyMainForm.DoSomething;
var
  myDataSet: TADODataSet;
begin
  myDataSet := GetDBInterface.AdoQuery('SELECT * FROM MyTable');
  ...
  // Or, for the class version
  myDataSet := GetDBClass.AdoQuery('SELECT * FROM MyTable');
  ...
end;